Remembering
by Nature9000
Summary: Freddie's memory of his Mom and his brother are shown as he remembers significant events in his life, his memory of them spans from the age of four to the age of twelve. This is a tribute fic, there is also Seddie in it.


Remembering

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly, however as for the character names other than the ones that are iCarly characters, those are mine.

A/N: This is a tribute to my mother and my brother who passed away on June 29th 2001, I hope you like it. Their names are located in the story, as is a few others inside. The significant ones are Sherry and Joshua, who died on June 29th of 2001.

* * *

-AND NOW IT BEGINS-

Freddie was four years old, he had his Mom, Dad, Brother and pet dog, it was a great life. His brother, Joshua Benson was playing a game on the Nintendo like he always did. It was the Super Mario Bros. game. Sherry Benson was talking on the phone and Dennis Benson was watching some television. The puppy was in Josh's room like always, Josh claimed it as his puppy. Freddie was in the backyard, playing on the fort that his grandfather and dad helped put up, he slid down the long slide and ran into the house.

"Yes, I will get those things in to you soon," Sherry Benson said in the phone. "Okay, so you needed how many?" Freddie was young, he didn't know what he was doing, but he reached for the phone cord and pulled it out of the wall at that very moment. "Hello? Hello?" Sherry stopped speaking and looked down at Freddie, he glanced up and grinned. "Freddie, what did you just do?"

"Bye Mommy!" Freddie ran out of the kitchen and heard his mom shouting for Dennis to catch him, Freddie crawled under the legs of Dennis and toward the hallway of the house. "You can't catch me!" Sherry ran by Freddie and looked down at Freddie, she smirked and Freddie swiftly turned around.

"Get back here!" Sherry ran after him some more, Dennis started to rush toward Freddie as well. Freddie swiftly turned around and ran into the hallway once more, he knew he'd be caught if he went into his room, that's where they wanted him to be. Freddie swiftly started to bang on his brother's door.

"If your name is Freddie, don't come in!" Josh said from the other side of the door. Freddie ignored his brother and rushed in, he quickly ran under the bed and waited until Josh looked under the bed from the top. "Hey Freddie, do you want to play this game with me?"

"Yeah sure," Freddie said with excitement. "Just don't give me to Mommy!" Josh smiled kindly at Freddie and nodded his head.

"I won't give you to mom!" Josh was nine at the time, there wasn't much he could do with Freddie anyway. Freddie crawled out from under the bed and stood up, Josh stood up and grabbed his wrist, pulling him out of the room. "Hey Dad, guess what!" Freddie's mouth fell and Josh led him straight to Dennis, Freddie was speechless as his father picked him up and carried him to Sherry.

"You're a traitor, Joshua, a traitor!" Freddie could hear Joshua chuckling as he walked back to his room.

-AGE 5-

Freddie was begging to use the puppy as a show and tell for his kindergarten class. "Please, I want to take Scooter for show and tell!" Sherry rubbed her chin and looked over at Dennis and Joshua, Joshua raised his eyebrow and Freddie sighed. "Please, there's this girl in there that says she bets I don't have a dog…plus I want to show the puppy to the class."

"Okay, I guess it'll be okay," Sherry said with a smile. "I'll be sure to be there and see how it goes, Joshua will be there too, if his teacher doesn't mind letting him out of class."

"Mrs. Putnam won't mind actually," Joshua said with a grin. Freddie smiled and ran over to Joshua, giving him a hug, Joshua yelped and pushed him off. "Watch out, Freddie, I don't want you crawling all over me!"

"I love you Bubba!" That was the nickname that everyone called Josh, he never liked it at all. Josh rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, Freddie hugged him again and he yelped.

"I told you already, get off me! Seriously, you act so weird all the time, keep this up and one day you'll get someone laughing at you about it. You know, calling you random things like _dork_ or something!"

"Nah, that won't happen." Joshua rolled his eyes once more and walked into another room, Sherry chuckled lightly and hugged Freddie close.

"Don't mind him, Freddie, he really does love you," Sherry said with a smile. "A lot of time, people act mean to someone just because they're too proud to admit they like you."

The next day, Freddie walked into his kindergarten classroom; he had Scooter trotting next to him, a small leash connected to his collar. Behind him was Joshua, and Sherry was walking in the class with a smile, Mrs. Eberly and Mrs. Shabay were the two kindergarten teachers. They walked over and smiled at Freddie, Mrs. Eberly taught one half of the class and Freddie was in the half taught by Mrs. Shabay.

"So is this your puppy, Freddie?" Mrs. Shabay asked. Freddie nodded and Sherry greeted the woman.

"Hello, I'm Freddie's mom," Sherry said while shaking the teacher's hand. "I believe we've met before."

"Yes, yes we have. Your son really seems to get along with his friends here; he's made quite a few friends. I believe he hangs around Jake Krandle more than the others though."

"Jake is fun!" Freddie said with a wide grin. A girl with blonde hair walked over toward Freddie, her eyes were wide and beaming as she looked from him to the dog.

"Freddie, is this your dog?" The girl asked as she dove down and started petting the dog. "He's _so_ cute! His ears are cute too!" The girl touched the puppy's ears and Sherry quickly pulled the girl away.

"You have to be careful with him," Sherry said with a soft smile. "The puppy has a slight temper, but he is really nice, he just gets a bit nervous around people he doesn't know."

"Oh, okay…" The girl looked over and another young boy walked over, he had blonde hair and a wide smile on his face.

"Freddie, you brought your puppy with you!" The boy exclaimed.

"Yes Jake, he did," Mrs. Eberly said while smiling.

"So can I hold him?" The girl asked. Freddie crossed his arms and looked away.

"I don't know, Sam, you have to ask Joshua!" Freddie said quickly. Sam huffed and walked over to Josh, she glared up at him and Joshua raised his eyebrow. Eventually the stare-down was over and Josh merely shrugged, so Sam picked the puppy up and held it close to her chest. "No! Put him down!"

"No, I want to hold him."

"But I have to show him first!"

"You can show him while I hold him!" Freddie sighed and looked at his mom; Sherry smiled at him and crossed her arms.

"Go on, Freddie, its okay to let her hold your puppy," Sherry said with a gentle sounding voice.

"She's a girl!"

"Now Freddie, you never know when one day she could be important to you, you should let her be happy and let her hold the puppy, there is no harm in it." Freddie sighed and Sam stuck her tongue out at him, with that the two walked toward the front of the class and the rest all sat and listened. Freddie looked over to see Sherry and Joshua standing in the back of the room, both smiling and waiting for him to begin.

"This is my puppy, his name is Scooter." Sam giggled and the dog moved his head up off of Sam's arm at the mention of his name.

-AGE 6-

Freddie walked into his brother's room once more, his eleven year old brother, Joshua was crying on the bed, it was because Dennis and Sherry had a divorce. "Joshua, what's wrong? Freddie asked while tilting his head.

"Get out of my room Freddie," Josh said with a slight growl. "I'm not in the mood!" Freddie jumped onto the bed and shook Josh's body. "Get off of me!" Josh pushed Freddie to the side and crossed his arms. "Go away…"

"No, I want to talk!"

"Well I _don't_ want to talk to you!" Sherry walked into the room and raised her eyebrow.

"Joshua, why are you yelling at your brother?"

"He won't leave me alone!" Sherry crossed her arms and let out a sigh, she slowly shook her head and walked to Joshua's bed.

"Freddie has something he wants to ask you, now I want you to listen to your brother, can you do that for me, Joshua?" Josh grumbled slightly and looked over at Freddie.

"My friends are outside; I want you to play freeze tag with us!" Joshua grumbled and stared at Freddie with narrow eyes.

"_Why_ would I want to play that stupid game with you or your friends?" Josh asked while huffing.

"Because we want you too, and I want you to play with us!" Joshua mumbled something and Sherry let out a small sigh, she smiled softly and patted Freddie's back.

"Go on outside, Freddie and have fun with Sam and Jake," Sherry said quietly, her voice sounded soft and like honey to him. Freddie walked outside the door and stood next to it, Sam and Jake walked in the hallway and he shushed them.

"Why did Dad leave, Mom?" Josh asked.

"He didn't leave," Sherry said quietly. She sat on the side of the bed, next to where Josh lay; she placed her hand on his forehead and smiled sweetly. "You may understand when you're older, but…your father and I, we just had our disagreements and it got to the point where we couldn't stay together. I know it's hard on you, Josh and I know you're upset, but you can't just spend all your time alone. Why don't you go out and have some fun, Freddie wants you to play with him along with his friends, so go out and play with them."

Joshua sat for a minute before sighing; he stood up and smiled at his mom. "Fine, I guess I'll go play with them." Freddie looked over at Sam and Jake, he smiled and heard Josh speak up once more. "And if they want me to play with them, they better get away from the door and outside in the next ten seconds!" Sherry chuckled lightly and the three kids quickly ran from the door and out into the backyard.

"Heh, he knew we were listening," Jake said with a chuckle as he climbed on top of the fort. Sam climbed to the top and Freddie made his way up from behind her.

"Ew, your butt looks like ham!" Freddie exclaimed. Sam narrowed her eyes and tapped Freddie's head with her foot.

"Don't look at my butt!" Sam exclaimed. Freddie rubbed the top of his head and waited for Sam to climb into the fort, he groaned slightly and got into the fort. He looked toward the house while Jake and Sam leaned on a rail next to him, with him sandwiched between the two.

"Here he comes!" Jake said as he pointed to the house, Joshua walked outside and looked up at the three.

"Hey, so you guys wanted to play a game?" Josh asked with a small grin. "I guarantee you three are going down, I'm taller and faster than you!"

"You're on!" Sam called out from the fort. She prided herself in being the fasted kid in her class; she was even faster than some of the six graders in the school.

"Well you're going to have to come down from the fort, how about we let the girl be 'it' first." Jake and Freddie groaned while Sam had a smug look on her face. "Hey, it's common decency; maybe you'll learn some when you grow older!"

"You want your brother to be humiliated so early in the game?!" Josh smirked and crossed his arms.

"Well whatever he suffers, I'm sure I'll make up for it. Now come on down from the fort, unless you're too scared!" The three kids slid down the fort slide and Josh walked over to them, they started chatting about the rules and so forth while Sherry watched from inside, peering out of the glass sliding door.

-AGE 7-

Freddie lay in his mother's bed, he had his first hernia, the surgery was performed about a couple of days prior, but he had to rest anyway. Sherry walked in the room and looked at Freddie, she gave a soft smile and ran her hands through Freddie's hair.

"I love you Freddie, you'll feel better soon," Sherry said quietly. Freddie groaned and held his arms out, Sherry gave him a hug and silently started to whisper a song. She sat up and Freddie lay back on the bed, Joshua walked in and smiled as Sherry sang to Freddie, her voice was silky and smooth, almost like honey. Joshua looked to the door and saw Sam walking in, she had a few papers in her hand, probably work from school. She stopped walking and listened to the song that Sherry was singing, she smiled and watched as Freddie seemed to relax his body.

"When is he going to get better?" Sam asked quietly as she looked up to Josh, he looked down to her and shrugged. "I hope it's soon, Jake and I really don't have a lot to do when he's not at school. Oddly enough it gets really boring!"

"It's okay, I'm sure he'll be fine sooner or later," Josh said with a low chuckle. Sherry kissed Freddie's forehead and slowly stood up, she turned around and smiled when she saw Sam.

"Hi Mrs. Benson, I'm here with the work that Mrs. Vandeveer had for Freddie, these math equations are tough though!" Sam looked at the paper and sighed, they were doing basic math and trying to figure out the most random questions. "What is the answer to three times five?"

"That would be fifteen," Joshua said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, it's fifteen, sweetie," Sherry said with a soft smile. Sam's lips formed an O shape and she swiftly bounded to Freddie's side.

"Hey Freddie, here are the papers that Mrs. V. gave to us, it's only a few questions, nothing big at all. Now hurry up and finish them, then come to me and give me the answers!" Sam smiled and Freddie rolled his eyes, he smiled at Sam and Joshua looked at the papers.

"You know, I could very well answer these for you and get them out of your way," Joshua said with a subtle smirk.

"Joshua Scott Benson, you will let the children do their own work," Sherry said while crossing her arms. Josh sighed and let out a small smile.

"Fine, if that's what they want."

"Hey, can I see his stitches?" Sam asked with excitement, Sherry smiled and rubbed Sam's head, she slowly shook her head in response.

"Unfortunately it would not be a good idea for you to see his stitches," Sherry said with a gentle and soft voice.

"Aw, why can't I see his stitches?"

"You will learn when you are older, dear." Sam sighed and shrugged her shoulders, she looked at Freddie and narrowed her eyes.

"Jake says you better get better soon, we're getting tired of eating by ourselves at lunch!"

"Don't worry Samantha, Freddie will be returning to school in a few days, he really does enjoy school."

"Yeah I know, and that makes him out to be a dork!" Freddie groaned and Sam smirked. "Later dork, I have to head home!"

"Have a good day, Sam," Sherry said with a smile. Sam smiled back and walked out of the room, Freddie stuck out his tongue and laid his head on the pillow.

"Hey Freddie, when you're all better, I'll let you play some video games with me," Josh said with a soft smile. Freddie smiled and nodded his head, he would love to play some games with his brother.

-AGE 8-

The day of schooling came to an end, one of the previous days, his step father ran over Scooter, it was a sad time for the family, but Freddie didn't really get upset over it. He was walking with Jake and Sam outside the schoolyard, Freddie's grandmother was supposed to be picking Freddie up soon after picking up Joshua. Sam was sipping some milk out of a straw in a carton of milk while Jake was trying to sing a song that they had in his choir class.

"Jake, you really can't sing, I hope you know that," Sam said with a slight laugh. She stared ahead with bored eyes, Jake narrowed his eyes and glared at Sam.

"Well one day I'm going to be a great singer!" Jake said quickly. Sam laughed and slowly shook her head, she doubted that very much. Jake glanced at his music sheet and then up, he let out a sigh and shrugged his shoulders.

"Okay, so there's not much I can do about it _now_."

"Yeah, whatever…you know, this is the first year we haven't all been in the same class!" Freddie nodded at that, fourth grade was the first year that they had separate teachers and they switched teachers, like periods. "I met this weird girl today, she's new, but I don't see much interest in her."

"Hey Puckett, I want that milk!" A voice exclaimed. The trio turned around and saw Gibby staring at them, Gibby kept her eyes narrowed and her mouth on the straw.

"Get your own milk," Sam said quietly.

"No, I want that milk!" Gibby walked toward Sam and grabbed the carton from her, but in the process, he crushed the carton and dropped it on the ground. "Oops, I dropped it." Sam stared at the carton and shrugged, Gibby was just a bully, but one day she was going to make him pay.

"Hey, leave her alone," Freddie said with a growl as he stepped in front of Sam.

"What did you say to me, Benson?" Gibby asked with a raised eyebrow. "Are you trying to boss me around?"

"Seriously Freddie, stand back," Jake said quietly. "Let's run, it's not good to miss with Gibby."

"No, he owes Sam a new milk carton." Sam narrowed her eyes, she didn't really care about it anymore. Gibby laughed and grabbed Freddie's shirt, he pulled Freddie close to him and glared into his eyes.

"You should never stand up to _me_." Gibby pushed Freddie to the ground and Sam's eyes widened slightly.

"Jake, go find Josh and Freddie's grandma," Sam said quietly. Jake nodded and ran toward the parking lot, Sam couldn't fight Gibby but if she could, she would have. Gibby punched Freddie and Sam clenched her fist as she saw blood coming from Gibby's nose. "One day, Gibby, I'm going to make your life miserable because of this."

"I'd like to see that happen, Puckett." Less than a minute later, Jake and Josh came running up. Joshua grabbed Gibby and pulled him away from Freddie, he pushed Gibby to a nearby tree and glared into Gibby's eyes.

"Listen up here fatty, the next time you lay your hands on my brother, I'm not going to be too happy," Joshua said with a slight growl. Jake helped Freddie up and the trio watched as Joshua talked to Gibby. "I don't want to hear anything about you tormenting my brother or his friends, and if you do, I'm going to come back and I'm going to make your life so miserable that you're going to wish you were never born."

"Hey, that's not a nice thing to say!" Joshua narrowed his eyes and punched Gibby in the face, it was not a hard punch at all, but it was still one that Gibby could feel. Gibby held his face and started to cry, he quickly ran off and Joshua glanced at Freddie while crossing his arms.

"Come on, let's go home, Mom isn't going to be too happy with this." They all walked toward the car and Freddie's grandma stared at Freddie in shock.

"Oh my god, what happened?" The woman asked. "What happened to my grandson?"

"Don't worry Grandma, it was just a school bully, I took care of him." The grandma nodded and drove off, dropping each kid off at their homes.

Joshua walked with Freddie into the house, Sherry gasped when she saw Freddie's face, she ran over and embraced him in her arms. "Freddie, are you okay?"

"A bully was being mean to Sam," Freddie said quietly. "He punched me."

"Oh my…" Sherry ran her hand through Freddie's hair and kissed him, her touch made him feel comforted. "Let's get you healed up, sweetie." Freddie followed his mom into the bathroom, she opened up the medicine cabinet and pulled out some cotton swabs and medicine. "This might sting slightly, but you can handle it, right?"

"Yeah, I can handle it!" Sherry smiled softly and kissed Freddie's forehead.

"That's my little man." Sherry placed the medicine on the cotton swab and then placed the swab on Freddie's scrapes, he winced slightly and Sherry hugged him close.

"It didn't hurt, Mommy, see? I'm fine!"

"Yes you are. See, you're my brave little man." Sherry smiled softly and Josh stepped into the doorway and leaned against the wall, he smiled and crossed his arms over.

"How's the runt doing?" Josh asked with a smirk. "Hey geek boy, don't get into any fights while in school, I'd rather not be the one helping you out. Plus, it's my job to pick on you, Shorty."

"Hey, just because you're tall doesn't mean you can call me short!" Freddie exclaimed. Josh laughed and walked over to Freddie, he rubbed Freddie's hair and grinned.

"Oh yes I can, believe me, you are short."

"You're just being a jerk."

"Yet you seem to cling to me for some odd reason that I will never quite figure out." Freddie stuck out his tongue and lightly bopped Joshua on the abdomen, Josh raised his eyebrow and chuckled. "Was that supposed to hurt?"

"You tell me, was it?"

"Could you boys not fight today?" Sherry asked quietly.

"Sorry Mom!" Sherry smiled and slowly stood up, she glanced at her watch and looked over at Freddie.

"No worries, dear." Sherry walked out and Josh rolled his eyes.

"Why do you always seem to get more attention?" Josh asked with narrow eyes. "Whatever, just leave me alone and don't bother me today." Joshua walked away and closed the door, leaving Freddie confused.

-AGE 9-

Sam was over at Freddie's house, the entire place was quiet, she sat by the counter and looked at Sherry who was cooking some food. "Mrs. Benson, why are you so upset today, you seem like you're having a bad day…" Sherry closed her eyes and smiled sadly, she wiped a tear from her eyes and looked at Sam.

"Don't worry about it, sweetie," Sherry said quietly. The thing was, she had met a man on the internet shortly before divorcing Dennis, nothing happened but after the divorce, they had grown close. They married when Freddie was seven, and the man was a cruel man, but Sherry recently divorced him.

"Where's Freddie's stepdad anyway?"

"He's gone, thankfully…he wasn't a great man, he was cruel and actually tried to hurt Joshua one time."

"Has he ever done anything to Freddie?"

"Thankfully no he hasn't, fortunately I managed to get him out of the house before he did anything." Sherry let another tear fall down her cheek and Sam tilted her head to the side, she hated seeing Mrs. Benson cry, Sherry was almost like a role model for her. "If you must know, I miss Dennis, it was a mistake to divorce him but now…" Sherry looked to the ceiling and then turned back around to attend to the food. "He doesn't want me back, I tore his world apart…it was my fault…"

"Don't say that! I'm sure it wasn't your fault…" Sherry chuckled slightly and looked over, Freddie walked into the kitchen and sat on a stool at the counter, he stared at Sam and narrowed his eyes.

"What is she doing here?" Freddie asked quietly.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Sam asked while staring back at him.

"I live here!"

"Well then, I'm visiting because I feel like it and I can!" Freddie grumbled and Sam smirked triumphantly, she sniffed the air and looked over at the food that Sherry was cooking. "That smells so good!"

"I'm sure it will be, do you want to try some?" Sherry said with a soft smile, Sam nodded and Sherry looked at the clock. "Oh my, Freddie you should have reminded me, it's time for you to take your growth hormone shot!" Freddie sighed and Sam's face twisted slightly.

"What are those?"

"Well Freddie has a slight growth problem, so he's been taking these shots for a couple of years now." Freddie got off the stool as Sherry opened a cabinet and pulled out a box, she pulled out the medicine and a syringe and drew some medicine out. Sam watched with wide eyes as Freddie pulled up his sleeve, she didn't like needles all that much, but this interested her.

"So is this going to make Freddie get taller?" Sherry nodded and held Freddie's arm, Sam expected Freddie to yelp when Sherry stuck the needle in, but when she did, he did not even move. Sam watched as Freddie glanced to the side, Sherry pushed the medicine in and pulled out the needle. No blood exited at all and Freddie immediately brought his sleeve down to normal.

"Aw Mom, did you have to do it while she was watching?" Freddie asked with a slight groan, Sherry smiled softly and rubbed Freddie's hair.

"You never know if she may end up having to give you a shot with those one day," Sherry said with a small chuckle.

"Ew, I wouldn't let her touch me with one of those! She might try to kill me with them!" Sam rolled her eyes and glanced to the side, she looked down toward the ground and Sherry raised her eyebrow.

"Don't talk like that, Freddie. I think you should apologize to her, it would be best if you did."

"Nah, he doesn't have to," Sam said with a wide grin. "I am perfectly fine with that, I'm not sure I could stand sticking him with one of those things anyway!" Sam jumped off her stool and looked at the food on the stove, she couldn't wait to try some of it. "So uh, when is the food going to be done?"

"It will be done very soon, Sam." Sherry smiled and walked back to the stove, Sam walked over to the stove and put her hands on the counter as she looked at the pan.

-AGE 10-

"Mom, why is she with us?" Freddie asked while sitting in the car. Jake chuckled and Sam stuck her tongue out, they were sitting in the back seat while Sherry and Josh sat in the front seat.

"Why must you be such a dork?" Sam asked while crossing her arms. "I can be wherever I want to be!" Sherry smiled sweetly and looked into the rearview mirror.

"You know they're allowed to come to church with us whenever they want," Sherry stated. "There isn't anything that says they can't come." Freddie crossed his arms and glanced out the window.

"Please, I'd rather that one other girl come to church with us than Sam!" Sam stared at Freddie and then down at her feet, Jake glanced over and slowly shook his head.

"Hey Freddie, be lucky that you have some girls that actually want to be around you," Josh said quickly. He was right, Freddie had plenty of friends at school and a lot of them were girls, Josh himself did not have many of those friends and he was really an introvert.

"Job 17:5, Freddie," Sherry said quietly. Sam glanced over at her and Freddie merely sat in silence. "If a man denounces his friends, the eyes of his children will fail."

"I don't know what that means," Freddie said quietly." Josh rested his elbow on the upper part of his seat and turned around to look at Freddie.

"It means that your children will follow your path, I think," Josh said quickly. "Either way, you have two great friends sitting beside you, you should love them and treasure them."

"Exactly," Sherry responded. "You never know when one day you may never see them again, what if something were to happen to them on this very day and you could never say hello to them again?" Freddie thought for a moment and looked over at Sam, he saw her glancing back down at her feet and he felt like a dagger was getting sent through him. He was making Sam feel pain, but he never knew that his words had an effect on her at all, she had always hidden it so well.

"I'm sorry, Sam," Freddie said quietly. He wrapped his arm around Sam in a hug, he expected her to push him off or hit him at least, but she never did.

"Yeah dork, whatever," Sam responded while glancing to the side. Sherry smiled while staring out the windshield, Joshua chuckled and turned around.

"True friends are the ones that are always with you, they're the ones that care," Sherry stated while turning the car into a parking lot. She drove until she found a parking space, with that, everyone got out of the car and walked toward the church. Freddie looked up at his mom, he loved how spiritual she always was, she was noble and wise as well.

Sam looked at Sherry and smiled, she had always said she wanted to grow up to be like her, she was almost as much of a mother to her as she was to Freddie and Joshua. Shortly after church, the group drove toward the ice cream shop, the three children in the back seat were growing more and more energetic with each second they neared it.

"Now remember, you can't have more than two scoops," Sherry stated while going into the left lane on the road. "I don't want any of you getting sick, the more ice cream you get, the more likely you'll get a stomach ache from it.

"Okay, two is fine by me, Mrs. Benson," Sam responded with a quick and excited voice. Joshua glanced back at Sam and Freddie with a smirk.

"Hey Sam, you should probably get three scoops and put one scoop on Freddie's head," Josh said with a slight laugh. Freddie's jaw fell open and Sherry rolled her eyes.

"Joshua, face forward and don't encourage Sam to dump her food onto Freddie," Sherry replied. Her tone was slightly scolding, and when she said it, Joshua sat facing the front.

"I was only joking anyway, it isn't like I _meant_ for her to do that."

"Seriously, Joshua, it would be a waste of good ice cream."

"Yeah, it would!" Sam exclaimed with wide eyes. "I wouldn't want to waste my ice cream for Freddie!"

"Well I wouldn't want to waste mine for you!" Freddie shouted. Sherry sighed and slowly shook her head at the two.

"Let's not fight today, can you do that for me?" Sherry asked in a soft voice. Freddie and Sam nodded and crossed their arms, Jake grinned and crossed his arms. "Today is a beautiful day, and we're all together to share the beauty of this day, its best not to bicker and argue during such a peaceful time."

-AGE 11-

Sam was once more over at his home, it was a somber time for everyone, Freddie was moving away. Sam looked toward the ground as she sat down at the table, she had no idea what to say to Freddie at the time. "You know, Jake and some others say they're going to miss you," Sam said in a quiet voice. "I say…well…" Sam closed her eyes and Freddie stared directly at her, she then opened her eyes and walked over to Freddie, giving him a hug. "This is the last day I'll ever see you again…you're leaving me behind with that one girl, how _nice_ of you…Why do you have to leave?"

"You never know when you will see him again," Sherry said while walking into the room. She smiled at Sam and gave the girl a hug. "Chances are that you will probably see him again one day, who knows."

"Yeah, it's not like I _care_ or anything…" Sam crossed her arms and Sherry merely smiled at her, she ran her hand through her hair and a smirk appeared on her face.

"You know, if you never see your friend again, it's best to remember that it is merely life. We don't always start out with who we end up with and we don't always end up with whoever we began with…it is just the natural cycle of life and there is nothing that we can do about such a thing. Just remember that with anybody, it is best to take the good memories in and remember those things over the bad."

"Yeah…" Joshua walked into the room and stared at Sam, he then looked over at Freddie and sighed.

"Your friend is here again?" Josh asked with narrow eyes. "Does she know that you're leaving today and that she will never see you again?" Sam smiled sadly and Josh merely chuckled, he decided to go over and give Sam a hug. "Well Sam, it was nice to know you, just remember that I won't ever forget you…probably because Freddie will end up thinking about you and his other friends almost every day of his life!" Sam chuckled and crossed her arms.

"Well he's dorky like that," Sam said with a soft laugh.

"We'll definitely miss you, Sam," Sherry said while hugging her. Sherry stood up and looked over at Freddie, he was playing on his small handheld video game. "Freddie, the car is all packed, are you ready to go now?" Freddie nodded slowly and stood up, when he did this, Sam swiftly wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

"I'm going to miss you, Freddie."

"Yeah, I'll miss you too," Freddie responded while trying to pull back from Sam, his efforts were in vain. When Sam released him, he followed Sherry and Joshua into the car, Sam stepped outside onto the driveway and watched as the family backed out of the driveway and drove off. Sam kept her eyes on the car until it vanished into the distance, she let a tear roll down her cheek as she sat down on the grass and wrapped her arms around her legs and buried her face into her knees.

-_New Scene_- (THE LAKE)

They had been at their new home for a few months, and today was the day they were going to go to the lake and go rafting. "Freddie, wake up already!" Josh said while pushing Freddie out of the bed. Freddie groaned as he slowly stood up and looked at Josh, Joshua walked over to his closet and pulled out some clothes. "Wear these, they'll go best for the lake!"

"Yeah, fine," Freddie stated while watching his older brother walk out of the room. "Sometimes I wish he'd just leave me alone." Freddie soon got dressed and walked outside the house, he saw Joshua and Sherry putting the raft into the back of the car, Sherry looked over at him and smiled softly.

"Good morning, Freddie," Sherry said as she walked over to Freddie and gave him a gentle hug. "Are you ready to go rafting?" Freddie nodded and followed his mom into her car, Joshua got into his own car and they drove toward the lake, it was only a couple streets from their home. When they arrived at the lake, Freddie exited the car and leaned against it, he watched as Joshua and Sherry pulled the raft out and began to inflate it.

"Hey, are you going to stand there all day?" Josh asked with narrow eyes. "Move around, do something, you'll get bored if you just stand there!" Freddie shrugged and walked toward the shore of the lake, he felt the breeze hit his face and the wind blow through his hair, it really was a beautiful place. Sure, he missed seeing his father and spending time with him every Saturday like always, but that was okay, he would see him again.

_"If only Dad could see this place, I think he would love it,"_ Freddie thought while crossing his arms and smiling. His father actually met this new woman, her name was Terry and she was fun. Dennis actually knew her for a little bit longer, when he met her, he was not sure. Freddie glanced over at his mom and brother, he smiled at them and sighed. Sherry was jealous, that much was for sure, but she moved on with her life and did her best to love and care for her two children.

Joshua of course, he liked Terry too, but the divorce of his parents years ago affected him more than it did Freddie, therefore he was never too sure what to think about the new woman that Dennis was dating. Freddie shrugged and turned back to glance at the large and beautiful waters, he loved watching the waves ripple with the breeze and hearing the birds singing their song.

The sun was high in the sky and the waters felt cool upon Freddie's feet as the waves rushed onto them, the mixture of the sand and the water was a feeling that he loved as well. Freddie pressed his toes together and let the wet sand seep through his toes, he laughed lightly and glanced over at the volleyball court. There were a few people playing a game there, Freddie glanced over at another area of the lake, he saw what looked like a large boat in the distance, he wanted to ride that boat.

"Freddie, I have your life jacket," Sherry said while walking over to him. He couldn't swim yet, so Sherry definitely checked to put that life jacket on him. He sniffed and smelled the sweet smell of his mom's hair mixed with some of the sand, it must have blown into her hair while she was there. Freddie lifted his arms and felt the life jacket scrape onto his body, he listened to the sound that the buckles made as Sherry pressed them together.

"Thanks mom." Sherry smiled and gently kissed Freddie's forehead, the feeling was soft and gentle, just as a mother's kiss was supposed to be, she ran her fingers through his hair and waited as Josh pushed the raft to the lake.

"Hey Freddie, are you going to get in?" Joshua asked while standing up.

"Have fun," Sherry said as she hugged Freddie, her arms were gentle and her hug was warm. "Now, listen to your brother and don't argue with him, can you do that for me?"

"Yeah, I won't fight with Josh." Sherry smiled gently and her shoulders rose up slightly.

"That's good, Freddie." She stood up slowly and watched as Freddie ran into the raft, Joshua pushed it out and got into the raft, he gripped the oars and went further from the shore. Freddie glanced back and watched his Mom's retreating form, she waved at him and held up a camera, ready to take pictures of this day.

"Hey, Freddie," Josh said from his side of the raft. Freddie looked over to see him with a smirk on his face, his hand was in the water, he flicked his finger forward and some water landed on Freddie.

"Hey, no fair, I wasn't ready!" Freddie exclaimed with a laugh. He then put his hand in the water and smirked at his brother.

"Oh no, oh don't you even think about it!" Joshua put his hands up in front of his face and shouted as Freddie splashed a bunch of water onto Joshua, the two brothers laughed and continued to splash water on each other until they decided it was time to put the water that was in the raft, out of the raft.

"This is fun, Joshua." Josh shrugged and Freddie rested his hand lazily in the water, it was so cool and perfect for the day. He closed his eyes and listened to the whooshing sound that the oars made as they swept through the water, it was not long before they made their way back onto the shore.

"Hey Freddie, are you asleep over there? If you are, I'm going to toss you into the water!" Freddie opened his eyes and stared at Joshua, he was standing next to Sherry, both of them were smiling at him. It was actually the first time in a long time that Joshua had actually been smiling, he didn't usually smile, not since they left and their father was divorced. It was a rare sight for Freddie to see, and he always loved when he saw it.

"Yeah, I'm up, Joshua." Freddie slowly got out of the raft, his brother helped him somewhat. As much as he didn't always admit it, Freddie really looked up to his older brother, Freddie was glad to have Joshua around as his brother.

"Did you have fun, Freddie?" Sherry asked while slowly taking off Freddie's lifejacket. Freddie nodded and his mom smiled back at him. "That's good, I'm glad you enjoyed it, we'll have to do this again sometime!"

-AGE 12- (June 29th)

Freddie yawned and opened his eyes, it was too early in the morning, but he wouldn't want to be going back to sleep. He sat up and glanced over, his cat was lying on the bed, curled up into a ball. He looked over at the door of his room and saw that it was wide open, it was an odd sight, he always slept with his door closed. Freddie crawled out of the bed and got into his clothes, he knew his Mom and Brother had left to get acne cream for Joshua and they should be back relatively soon.

It was actually a very eerie sight the night before, he had walked into the kitchen to get a snack and he saw Joshua walking around the house so late at night, he merely shrugged it off and went back into his room after that. Of course, Freddie also had that bad dream, where his Mom had driven off of a cliff. It was so bad that it woke him up, he had difficulty going back to sleep, but he did.

Now the door being open was something that he could chalk up on the list of strange occurrences, but he brushed it off as the possibility of his mom checking up on him during the morning. The night before, he had been watching television in Sherry's room and she spent about five minutes honking on the horn until he came out, he did and she gave him a hug and a kiss, telling him goodbye and that she'd see him again.

Freddie glanced over toward Joshua's room, he opened the door and saw a great mess of his room, that was not unnatural, since Joshua's room was almost always messy. The strange thing was that both of the family dogs, Star and Sugar were sitting on the bed, barking their heads off. So Freddie let them go into the backyard, he walked into the living room and his eyes grew wide, the whole place was in a mess, like a storm had passed through the living room during the night.

Boxes were everywhere and papers were scattered about, there was a toy or two on the ground and a small stuffed animal lying in the middle of the floor, Freddie probably would have freaked out but he was sure there was a logical explanation for the house being in such a mess. Freddie decided to go into his mom's room and watch some television, he stayed there for the next few hours until deciding to go out back and play around with the dogs.

Freddie stood at the gate and looked over, two cars drove into the driveway, the odd thing was, they were not his Mom's car or his Brother's car. It was the car belonging to his grandparents, George and Rose, they got out and ran over to Freddie with tears in their eyes. Freddie saw Sam walking out of the car, she stood beside it and held her hands together at waist level, tears were rolling down her cheeks as well.

"Freddie, there's been an accident," George said as he and Rose hugged Freddie. Sam closed her eyes and her body began to shake, Freddie's eyes were wide and he didn't even know what to start thinking. "Your Mom and Joshua were driving down the country road when they hit a puddle, they started to spin and a woman driving a minivan came out and hit their convertible on the passenger's side. Both of them…were killed instantly."

Freddie's eyes widened even more, his mom and brother were dead, he couldn't even begin to fathom it, but even still, it did hit him hard. Freddie bit his lip and fell to his knees, he started to cry horribly, he couldn't even stop crying. He had just lost both his Mom and Joshua, he would never see them again.

Freddie felt two arms wrap around him, he looked up and saw Sam hugging him, tears were falling from her eyes almost as hard as his. He knew why this was, she was so close to both Sherry and Joshua, she mourned just as badly as he would. "I'll never see them again, Sam," Freddie said in between his choked sobs.

"No Freddie, we'll see them again, maybe not today…but someday." Everyone walked into the house, Freddie sat in the middle of the living room with Sam, he was still crying harder than he had ever cried in his life. His grandparents were outside, possibly talking to the state trooper, his grandma's sister was in the kitchen, staring out the window and occasionally glancing at Freddie.

Sam sighed and continued to hug Freddie, there was nothing they could do or say that could ever take the pain away, it was a devastating blow. The more he cried, the more pain Sam felt, she closed her eyes and started to softly sing to Freddie. Freddie glanced at Sam and listened, it was the same soothing song that he remembered his Mom singing years ago. It was a song of comfort, a song of hope, and an all around beautiful noise. It didn't make Freddie forget, but it did calm him somewhat, her voice was so beautiful to him that it helped slow down the tears. Freddie saw his grandparents walk in, the looked at him and he knew he would be living with them. Though he would have liked to live with his father, the grandparents could offer better living arrangement.

Sure, they would lie to him and make him think he had a decision on where he would live, they would all ask him where he wanted to live, but it really wouldn't matter like they said it would. The decision had already been made for him, but that he wouldn't find out for years down the road until his father would mention it in an almost harsh manner.

"It's time to go," Rose said quietly. Sam and Freddie stood up from their spot and took one last glance in the house, they walked toward the car of Freddie's grandparents and entered. There they would sit in silence for the next hour and thirty minutes that it took for them to drive toward the grandparent's home.

Their home was only a few blocks from where his old home had been, he was at least happy about the fact that he would see all his friends again, there wouldn't be a problem with that. However, he knew he would never get over what happened, there was just no possible way for someone to safely get over the loss of their closest relatives, no possible way.

-NEW SCENE-

Freddie stepped out of his car, he was a much older man now, he was forty years old and had beautiful wife with three beautiful children. He was revisiting the lake that he and his brother had been on so many years ago, it was probably one of his favorite places and favorite memories. He saw his wife's head come out of the passenger side of the car, she walked over to him, her long, blonde hair bouncing with each step. She stepped next to him and he placed his hand around her waist, she smiled at him and gave him a peck on the lips.

It was customary for them to come to the lake, they had been doing so since they got married out of college, that was when they were twenty two. They didn't visit the lake annually, it was more like every two years or so, they wanted each visit to the lake to be great and meaningful, rather than for it to grow dull. They looked over and saw a car driving up to theirs, it was driven by a much older man and woman, Freddie and Sam's three children were riding in the back of that car.

The man and woman exited the vehicle, shortly after, a fifteen year old girl and an eight year old boy followed out, a five year old girl hopped out and ran over to her parents. Freddie smiled as the man walked up to him. "Hey Dad, did you enjoy the drive?" Freddie asked with a smirk.

"Yeah, well that depends," Dennis said with a small smile. "My wife is around eighty now and she _still_ is a backseat driver, not to mention your daughter wanted to drive the entire way." Sherry Benson walked over to Freddie with wide eyes, her hair was ruffled and her body was shaking.

"Dad, I never knew Grandpa could be such a scary driver," Sherry said quietly. "He's a highway threat, Dad!"

"Hey, I wasn't driving that fast!" Sherry twitched as she slowly turned her head toward Dennis and grinned.

"I know, in fact I want to ask what you think highway speed is these days…thirty, maybe forty?" Dennis rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "You were driving like a grandpa!"

"I am a grandpa!"

"That has nothing to do with it!"

"Now relax, Sherry," Freddie said with a small chuckle. Freddie looked over at his father and smiled softly. "Well Dad, after years of trying to convince you to come here with my family, you finally did, what on earth made you?"

"I had to work, Son," Dennis said quietly. His wife, Terry, rolled her eyes and tapped Dennis lightly on the back of his head.

"You haven't worked since you were in your early sixties!" Terry said in a quick voice. "They've been coming here at least three times since you retired!" Dennis rolled his eyes and everyone chuckled lightly, Freddie looked over at his wife and smiled softly.

"Well Sam, do you think we should take that raft out now?" Freddie asked with a soft voice. Sam smiled and nodded her head, they were going to let Sherry and her younger siblings, Daniel and Sarah, ride in the raft on the lake. Freddie and Sam walked over to the trunk of their car and started to pull the raft out, Sam started the conversation.

"So Freddie, you seemed quiet most of the way up here, what were you thinking about?" Sam asked while looking in the trunk for the inflator, she actually figured he was thinking about his Mom and his Brother, as they always did when they came here.

"You know, I was just remembering some old memories that I had with my Mom and brother, it's nothing too big." Sam smiled as she set the inflator on the ground and connected the pump to the raft, Freddie turned it on and Terry walked over to them.

"It amazes me, the old coot is still so loveable," Terry said with a smile. Sam chuckled and Freddie shrugged his shoulders, yeah he thought his father was great. "Freddie, you just seem to be more and more like your father every day." Freddie stood up and smirked at Terry, Sam slowly stood up and looked over at the three children who were running around on the beach shore.

"Yes, but when I freak my granddaughter out with my driving, I think it'll confirm the fact that I am exactly like him." Sam turned her head toward Freddie and raised her eyebrow, she was actually sure Terry was right, Freddie did seem a lot like his father. Of course, they always said that Sam was a mix between Sherry and Terry, she never saw that correlation, but if that's what they wanted to believe, then so be it.

Dennis narrowed his eyes and stared at the three, he knew they were talking about him, but he wasn't all that interested. Dennis walked over to the shoreline and his three grandchildren immediately hugged him.

"We love you, Grandpa!" Sarah said with a bright smile. Dennis smiled at the three kids and looked over to see Freddie walking over with the raft, Terry and Sam were following right behind him, possibly gossiping about their husbands.

Sam and Terry had the lifejackets in their hands, they immediately hurried over to the three children and started to put the lifejackets on them. Sherry put her own on while Terry took care of Daniel, oddly enough, she was able to bend over just enough to put it on him. She nearly had the lifejacket all the way on when she stood up and narrowed her eyes, Sam looked over with a look of concern and Terry let out a sigh.

"I can't keep bending over," Terry said quietly. Sam put her hand over her mouth and let out a small smile, she walked over to Daniel and knelt down in front of him.

"I'll handle the rest," Sam said with a soft and gentle voice. Sam pushed the lifejacket onto Daniel and locked the connectors together, she hugged Daniel and gave him a soft kiss on the forehead. "Now you be good, Daniel. Listen to your older sister, try not to have any arguments, and don't push your younger sister into the water."

"I won't," Daniel said with a sigh. Sam chuckled lightly and hugged Daniel once more before the three children got into the raft and started rowing out into the water.

Freddie placed his arm around the back of Sam's waist and Dennis did the same with his wife, Sam rested her head on Freddie's shoulder and smiled softly. Dennis glanced over at Freddie and smiled, the breeze blew through his hair as he listened to the waves of the water rippling in the wind, and the felt the soft sand beneath his feet, as well as the pleasant memories, it was no wonder that Freddie loved to come to the lake.

As they watched the three kids row further out into the water, they all had the same thoughts inside their minds, they each had memories of their own about Sherry and Joshua, each running their course through the group. Death is hard, and you never truly get over it, but as time rolls on by, it gets easier to deal with. These people knew one thing though, no matter what, remembering the good times along with the bad was never a bad thing and it was always easy to do. Just remember to cherish every moment that you have with those that you care about, because in the end, they may be gone.

* * *

Well, I hope you enjoyed that actually. Oh, and if I hear anything about Freddie or Sam being OOC and "They don't cry" then I'll be angry. Given the circumstances, they would cry. The scene with Scooter is an actual memory of mine, Sam plays the role of a girl that was in my class. The first scene at the lake and the scene at the house are actual memories too, the only difference at the house at the time of death is that Sam didn't exist. Then there's the future scene with the kids, that is also made up, I have yet to get out of college.


End file.
